Officials at Attitash Mountain said that on Saturday, there were more skiers on the slopes than any time in recent memory.

"We had an outstanding Christmas vacation week," said John Lowell of Attitash Mountain. "We were up about 45 percent. And then this Martin Luther King weekend, we had a record-breaking day on Saturday, and we expect to be on pace with Christmas, maybe just a little bit off."

Lowell said most ski resorts mark success by four key yardsticks. Christmas and the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday have been great for Attitash. Up next is the Presidents Day holiday weekend and school vacation week, both in February.

Officials said a little December snow goes a long way.

"In comparison to last year, the snow coverage is a lot better," said skier Jeff Reynolds, of Beverly, Mass. "There was a good 18 to 24 inches at Christmas, and that made a huge difference with being able to get a base down."

With the economy bouncing back, Attitash officials said more people may be willing to spend money on recreation.

"I think people maybe haven't been going out as many days as they want the past couple years, and I think this year is the year to do it," said Laura Tuveson of Attitash Mountain.

"This Christmas was amazingly great compared to past years, and I think that's what's bringing people up, and it's great for the economy and the ski mountain," said Rose Dennis, of Newton, N.H.

Attitash officials said they hope to have almost all of their terrain open by this weekend.

Other mountains also reported strong improvement over last year. Gunstock said it's 55 percent ahead of last year and beat last year's record for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Bretton Woods had an estimated 10,000 visitors this weekend. Cannon Mountain said it had double the number of visitors Sunday compared to the same time last year.

Cranmore Mountain said it had an 80 percent increase in skiers over last year.